Tar Heels take series at Maryland

Having great pitchers can give a baseball team a boost — and in more ways than might be expected.

First and foremost, great pitching can consistently limit opposing hitters, as the No. 13 North Carolina baseball team was able to do this weekend in its series win against Maryland, winning 7-0 Friday, 9-4 Sunday and falling 3-2 Saturday.

But the likes of Trent Thornton, Benton Moss, Zac Gallen and Chris McCue also serve to prepare the North Carolina lineup for conference pitching.

It would normally make sense for teams to beat up against a weaker non-conference schedule and struggle against the more talented pitchers that are in the conference.

Not in this case — at least, that’s what junior shortstop Michael Russell thinks.

“I don’t know if this is a trend,” he said. “But it seems to me like — this sounds weird — but it seems like we’ve been hitting the better pitching a little better. I don’t know if that’s because we’re just used to it … We hit our own guys pretty well and our guys are fantastic.

“I don’t know if that’s an actual trend or if that’s just what it’s been like the past two weekends, but it seems like we really come to play when these good arms are coming at us.”

Against Maryland this weekend, UNC scored 18 runs and managed 29 hits.

“I just think a lot of the guys are getting their confidence level up,” Thornton said. “You know, putting some really good swings on the ball.

“It’s always fun pitching with the lead and as of lately our hitters have been doing a really good job of putting some runs on the board.”

Whether the offensive success has come from that confidence, hitting against their own pitchers or using a new lineup that features Landon Lassiter in the lead off spot, one thing is certain: this young UNC baseball team can still put runs across the plate.

But that doesn’t mean everything is perfect.

On Saturday, UNC missed out on a chance for a sweep after leaving leaving 13 men on base. UNC out-hit Maryland 11-4, but wasn’t able to put together those hits when runners were in scoring position. For Thornton, that’s one of the areas where improvement can still come.

“You know there’s a few situations where we’ll get some guys in scoring position and we’re not hitting the ball as good as we should,” he said. “But that’s going to come with time as well. We’re going to be able to do that.”

While there are still some kinks to work out, the UNC baseball team seems to be past the point where the offense is questioned day in and day out.

“I definitely think we’ve shaken all the jitters off,” Thornton said. “You know, there’s still room for improvement, we’re still going to continue to get better, and that comes with time.

“But I’m really liking the way we’re playing right now.”

After winning 12 of their past 16 games, coach Mike Fox and the rest of the team would probably agree.

sports@dailytarheel.com